Charles Manson
Let's get something straight: Charles Manson never killed anybody. He was the mastermind behind the Tate murders in the late 1960's, providing specific instructions to his followers. This small-time thief managed to charm young hippie girls into doing his bidding. His obsession with the lyrics of rock group The Beatles made him believe a race war was coming. While everybody fought it out, his band of followers would wait in the desert, only to return when things calmed down. Before being sentenced to die in California's gas chamber (later commuted to life) he recorded some music, committed petty crimes and hung out with hippie chicks. He remains in Pelican Bay State Prison, a highly secure facility for incorrigible offenders, to this day.
Flirted with Scientology in prison:
A cell partner turned me on to Scientology. With him and
another guy I got pretty heavy into Dianetics and Scientology. Through
this and by other studies, I came out of my state of depression. I was
understanding myself better, had a positive outlook on life, and knew
how to direct my energies to each day and each task.
-- Manson: In His Own Words
Has a Swastika carved on the lower part of his forehead, between the eyes.
Timeline
| 12 Nov 1934 |
Charles Manson born as "no name Maddox", Cincinnati OH, bastard son of sixteen year old prostitute Kathleen Maddox. |
| 1947 |
Sent to Gibault School for Boys, Terre Haute IN. |
| 1951 |
Attempts to move to California. |
| 1951 |
Captured, sent to National Training School for Boys, Washington, DC. |
| 1951 |
Sodomizes a boy by force at the National Training School, and is transferred to Federal Reformatory at Petersburg, VA. |
| Sep 1952 |
Sent to Chillicothe, OH. |
| May 1954 |
Paroled. |
| 1955 |
Marries a waitress. Son born, Charles Manson, Jr. |
| 1958 |
Paroled. |
| c. 1966 |
Alvin Karpis, of the Ma Barker gang, teaches Manson guitar. |
| 21 Mar 1967 |
Released from prison, sent to San Francisco. |
| 1968 |
Moves to Spahn Ranch. |
| 1968 |
The Beatles release Helter Skelter. |
| 12 Oct 1969 |
Police capture Charles Manson at Barker Ranch, inside Death Valley National Park. Charlie is arrested for arson, after burning a maintenance vehicle blocking his favorite dune buggy route. One of his followers, Susan Atkins, is arrested the following day and spills the beans about the Tate/LaBianca murderers. Manson has not left prison since. |
| 6 Nov 1969 |
Manson Family member Susan Atkins tells her cellmate that Steve McQueen, Richard Burton, Tom Jones, and Frank Sinatra are on their "death list." |
| 27 Nov 1969 |
Court appointed attorney Ronald Hughes, handling the Charles Manson case, disappears on a camping trip to Sespe Hot Springs in Northern California, accompanied by two Manson followers. His decomposed body is identified by dental x-rays five months later. |
| 1 Mar 1970 |
Charles Manson releases his guitar folk album Lie: The Love & Terror Cult in order to finance his legal defense. The record consists of songs recorded in Van Nuys, California in 1968. |
| 19 Jan 1971 |
The Beatles song "Helter Skelter" is played during the Charles Manson court trial. |
| 1972 |
Death penalty abolished in California. Sentence commuted to life imprisonment (with possibility of parole.) |
| 5 Sep 1975 |
Manson Family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme almost assassinates President Gerald Ford with a .45 automatic in Sacramento, California. But Fromme is tackled by a Secret Service agent before she can remember to rack a round into the firing chamber. |
| 13 Jun 1981 |
Charles Manson interviewed at Vacaville Prison by television host Tom Snyder. |
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